Fire and Oak — Restaurant in Jersey City

Not sure where to begin with this review. Got to the restaurant and it looked amazing just like the pictures and reviews stated. However that probably was the best part of the experience here. One of the waiters came to take our order as soon as they saw the menus given to us and when I asked for two minutes to get a good look at the menu, the waiter did not bother to come back. Had to wave my hand to another waiter’s attention to give my order.

Appetizers came, the calamari and Kobe meatballs = amazing.

However while having our appetizers, the restaurant seats another couple adjacent to my and my guest. The distance was definitely not 6 feet apart so I politely asked to be moved and was moved.

Appetizers finished and the entrees got to the table. As soon as the entrees hit the table again another couple was seated adjacent to us again and again the distance was less than 6 feet apart.

Again I had to ask to be moved and while waiting to be moved I had to flag down the waiter again to let them know my order was in correct. My surf and turf was just turf without the surf. No shrimp. The nice waiter apologized and stated that the shrimp will be brought to me as soon as it’s ready. In the meantime we were seated elsewhere a little more secluded, private and socially distant.

The penne pasta was good however unfortunately that was not my order and I couldn’t eat my partner’s order. Instead my ‘crispy fries’ seemed like salty fries, my steak (requested medium rare) came out pretty rare and my shrimp (when I got it about 10 minutes later) tasted and smelled as if it was raw shrimp. 🤢🤮

My guest and I were completely disgusted by the meal and service so far and lost our appetite to continue. I believe our waiter noticed us stop eating and came to ask if we were done and wanted to go boxes. I stated no and he asked nicely if there was anything wrong and I began to explain the problems above with the entire experience.

Eventually the manager was brought who nicely acknowledged the bad experience we had and significantly reduced our bill to just the calamari and penne pasta (I insisted that nothing had to be removed or to at least add the meatballs back as they were delicious but she stated due to the entire experience we wanted to waive the streak, shrimp and meatballs).

Overall I will never come back here ever again despite the ending with the manager trying her best to make things right. But...

Fire and Oak Jersey City, Today we lived the worst experience of our lives in this place, only families with food allergies will understand my post. We called to make a reservation, but not before asking if they had anything for my son, the response was positive, we decided to go and upon arrival and before placing the order we asked to make sure once again that if there was something suitable for him, we mentioned his restrictions and we told them that we brought an electric container that contained rice, since the only thing suitable was a steak, so at least he had a side order. We told the waiter that the only thing she had to do was to connect it to the electricity so that it would heat up and bring it back to our table so we could serve to our son's plate ourselves.

To our surprise, the meat arrived along with the rice served on the same plate. At first glance this sounds great, but not for a family that knows how allergies work, that has a child with severe allergies and that we know about cross contamination, we immediately told the waitress that since they had put the rice there, what kitchen utensils did they use? Why didn't she bring it to the table as we agreed? She only said that they had turned it over and put it there, that they did not touch it with any tools, that she would not do anything to put our son's life in danger, but I did not believe her, we asked her to bring the container back but she disappeared, my husband when to get it and to our surprise the container was in the kitchen and they had washed it , so how can you believe someone who did the opposite of what was asked her to do at the beginning.

Eventually the managers came to see what happened I was angry, frustrated, upset and It was because the waitress told them that the container didn't heat up, and she decided to put my son's rice in a microwave oven, and finally they said that she didn't know what she had done, and we asked , where is the waitress and none of them knew. It is disrespectful, unethical and zero empathy from them to play with a person's life, to lie to your face, to give you empty answers without foundation.

The manager was more worried about the rest of the people than about my son. It has been the worst experience I have ever had and I will never return to this place...

Disappointing Experience at Fire & Oak, Jersey City

I rarely write reviews, but my recent visit to Fire & Oak in Jersey City left me and my friends so dissatisfied that I felt compelled to share. We each paid close to $100 for a meal that barely met the standards of a chain restaurant like Applebee’s — and honestly, Applebee’s might have been better.

Here’s what went wrong: Service Issues: The waitress failed to bring us bread despite our request, which was particularly frustrating since one of my friends, who has diabetes, needed something quickly. When they ordered a Diet Coke, they were served a regular Coke instead — an inexcusable mistake. Food Quality: The barbecue ribs my friend and I ordered were so overdone and unappetizing that we couldn’t eat them. We ended up giving them away to someone outside The Cheesecake Factory, where we went for dessert after skipping dessert at Fire & Oak because of the poor quality. Unprofessional Kitchen Behavior: While walking near the kitchen, I noticed the chefs eating steaks. Normally, I wouldn’t mind, but the steaks they were eating looked far better than the steak being served to customers. It was shocking and unprofessional.

Overall, the food was disappointing, the service subpar, and the experience utterly unsatisfactory. Fire & Oak markets itself as a high-end establishment, but our experience was far from that. For the price, I expected far better.

I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant and certainly won’t be returning. Worst dinner on Christmas Eve ever!!!!!!!

Truffle fries...